


let me wash your hair

by pandabrite



Series: tumblr drabbles [4]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Episode: e060-066 The Stolen Century Parts 1-7, Gen, One Shot, Spoilers for Episode: e060-066 The Stolen Century Parts 1-7, tumblr drabble, twin hair washing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-14 23:11:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13018176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandabrite/pseuds/pandabrite
Summary: lup hides herself away, but taako finds her. lup always took care of him, now it's his turn to do something for her.





	let me wash your hair

**Author's Note:**

> heyo just another tumblr drabble written for a prompt~ the prompt was lup & taako and hair washing. c:

  * **♖: Having their hair washed by the other**  




Lup was busy cursing her luck.

Of course, it was kiiiiinda her own fault for getting a little too reckless with her magic. But at the same time, it wasn’t her fault, because she didn’t know her magic was going to backfire and fuckin’ shake and bake her hands because of her own impulsiveness. 

She was soaking in a bath, avoiding contact with the other crew members for the moment, though she knew they knew. And with Merle gone, lost to an early battle on this Gods-forsaken plane, there was little chance at a speedy recovery from the blistering wounds littering her skin.

They were haphazardly bandaged, the best she could do on her own.

Lup… wasn’t even really sure why she was hiding herself away. It was less shame and more… well, yeah, she was a little embarrassed, she _guessed_. This cycle was rough. They were being pushed to their limits in ways none of them had before…

Even Lup. Lup who was endlessly resilient. A fire unquenchable. A brave and determined force of nature… even Lup was _suffering_. She felt weak and tired and it wore her to the bone to feel so exhausted when she had people to protect…  


She didn’t even know why she’d run this damn bath… she couldn’t– she couldn’t do anything. Her hands hovered several inches above the water, because she knew she couldn’t get them wet. It was… it had just seemed like the best, and well, only excuse to get some guaranteed alone time besides claiming she needed to take a shit.

… but apparently, it wasn’t _exactly_ guaranteed.

The bathroom door suddenly slid open.

Lup’s eyes darted toward the door and she sunk down into the water with a start, “Um, _hello_ , _ocupado_.”

“Sorry, didn’t see a sign or anything,” Taako had let himself into the bathroom, which had been locked, mind, and shut the door behind him.

Lup huffed and looked away, “… Look, you should know better than anyone else I just kinda sorta… want to be alone.”

“I’ll be alone with you then,” Taako shrugged in an offhand way and took a seat next to the tub, back leaned against the side.

“Kinda… defeats the purpose…” Lup… didn’t have the heart to argue with him. Something about him being there was sort of relaxing, even despite the fact that she didn’t really want to be seen in this state of… well, weakness.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t both seen each other in much worse states.

“Listen, Taako, I know you won’t, but… don’t make a big deal out of this, okay?”

“If you know I’m not going to, then… if you already knew, why ask? I’m not going to. You _obviously_ know that.”

“… I do… I know…”

They fell silent for a moment before Taako piped up again, “though, I do gotta wonder what the whole point of a bath is when you… uh, can’t use your hands. Couldn’t you just claim you had to take a hefty dump or something?”

“You know why I’m in here…”

“A pity soak?”

“Just because my hands are burnt doesn’t mean I can’t smack the shit out of you.”

“Yeah, I reckon… I think that’d hurt you more than me, if we’re being honest here,” Taako tilted his head back to look at his sister’s scowling face, though her expression softened after meeting his eyes for a bit.

They didn’t really need to talk about it, honestly. Taako knew. Lup didn’t like being seen weak. Hurt. She never had. She was the champion who never felt pain, never endured a wound she couldn’t handle, never needed help because she couldn’t afford to. They couldn’t afford her to. But… right now was different. Right now, he could help her.

Taako got to his feet, and Lup watched curiously.

She was even more confused when Taako reached over her shoulder to pull her hair from the messy braid she’d thrown it in that morning.

“What’re you–”

“Chill.” Taako cut her off and let her hair fall loose. With gentle hands, he coaxed her head back a bit, dunking her hair into the water.

Lup’s lips pursed– but she didn’t contest the motion, allowing Taako to wet her entire head before nudging her to sit up again.

Taako took a seat cross legged on the edge of the tub, humming to himself as he squeezed shampoo into the palm of his hand.

“You don’t have to do this…” Lup muttered.

“Oh, I 100% know that. You think I don’t know exactly what I do and don’t have to do at every waking moment of my life?” Taako sniffed, “I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. _Ever._ ”

Taako’s fingers were in her hair, kneading at her scalp with a tenderness that Lup forgot Taako could have. Lup didn’t want to fight it, really… though it did make her feel childish, just a bit, to have her brother washing her hair for her.

Her expression must have been easy to read, because Taako commented again, “How many times have you done something like this for me?”

Lup looked vaguely surprised, but her expression immediately softened. She pulled her knees a bit closer to her own chest and rest her chin on them as Taako worked, “… I know.”

“So why are you pouting? Just– listen, just let me… do something for you, for once. We’re not kids anymore. You… don’t have to pretend to be brave for me all the time.”

“… Yeah… I do.”

Taako shook his head, coaxing her head back once again to scoop water over the top of her head.

“If you get any into my eyes, I’ll kill you.” Lup remarked with a huff, breaking the slightly tenuous silence that hovered between them.

“I mean. I’d come back. So, I guess if that’s what’ll make you feel better,” Taako pushed her up again and slapped a palm full of conditioner onto her head.

“… It wouldn’t.” Lup finally conceded.

Taako continued to work, and silence fell between them again. Lup had closed her eyes, posture shifted in an obvious attempt to put herself more at ease… but she could feel it, the tenseness of her shoulders, the furrow of her brow. She wasn’t calm. She wasn’t at ease… how could she be..? How could she just relax when–

“Listen,” Taako suddenly spoke, rousing Lup’s attention, “I know you’re kicking your own ass right now. You– I know you, don’t dispute it, I know you’re mad you’re gonna have to sit the next few fights out. But, take it from me, a sort of sitting-things-out-virtuoso, you’ve gotta just roll with the punches. Sometimes you just gotta be, sometimes you have to be ‘good out here.’”

Lup huffed, and her gaze shifted toward her damaged hands…

“And those– you might want to… um… get those not so shittily tended to.”

“I already know that,” Lup was quiet, ears low… she knew Taako was right. But it just… wasn’t so easy for her. She had to fight, it was… just sort of what she did. She solved problems. She fought. She was brave and powerful… and now she just couldn’t be.

Taako nudged her back one last time to rinse the conditioner out of her hair, and after giving her locks a few squeezes to remove the excess water, he produced a long, slender hairpin from somewhere and secured her hair to the top of her head.

“Taako…” Lup glanced up at him, “… thank you…” 

“No prob,” he looked thoughtful for a moment, “but you gotta get Barold to help you with the rest. I ain’t in the business of washing anything else."

“I- that’s not- you dipshit-” Lup raised a leg and slapped her foot down into the bathwater, hard, sending a wave splashing at Taako.

But Taako laughed and got to his feet, dodging the spray “I know,” he shrugged, “you’re welcome. I guess. Only if you take it to heart. You’re stubborn as fuck… you gotta let the rest of us pull the weight for now.”

“… _You’re_ gonna pull weight.”

“Well, ‘the rest of us’ is just sort of a general statement… but, yes, there might, like, be some marginal weight pulling.”

Lup huffed, but… she was smiling, “… whatever you say… I’ll– I’m gonna give it my best effort, okay? Just– don’t haul more than you can carry, please.”

“Oh definitely trust me that that’ll _never_ happen,” Taako waved a hand dismissively, and as he did so, his other hand snatched a towel up and tossed it to near enough Lup could reach it.

“I shoulda figured, lazybones.”

“You right, you right.” Taako leaned against the bathroom door, but right before he went to leave, he glanced back at her.

Their gazes met for a long while. It was hard. They were both struggling. They were all struggling. Taako’s pep-talk was just as strained as Lup’s indifferent attitude toward the the whole thing. They both knew it. … but they both also knew they had to try. Even if Taako didn’t want to bother anymore. Even if Lup wanted to throw herself right back into the fray… they couldn’t. 

“Don’t prune up in there.” Taako waggled his fingers at Lup before slipping out the bathroom door, shutting and locking it behind himself.

Lup let her own gaze drop back down to the water, a sigh dancing on her lips. She… needed to get out and go get her hands seen to… She… had to do what was right for the long term cause. It was selfish to hole herself up and not take care of herself, but she was impulsive and felt mopey and… that wasn’t what she needed to feel.

She had to be strong in a different way, now, she supposed…

Taako had leaned himself against the bathroom door, just listening to the inside for a moment. He pushed himself off after a time and sauntered off. He figured he’d go right ahead and let someone know, probably Lucretia, to meet Lup to get her hands taken care of, just to make sure. 

They both needed to be taken care of, sometimes. 


End file.
